Cosmopolitanism, Literary Nationalisms and Linguistic Activism

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between cosmopolitanism and nationalism through the example of a transnational literature written in an African language, Pulaar, considered from a multi-located perspective. It seeks to understand to what extent a linguistically based transnational literary nationalism may be considered a form of “bottom-up cosmopolitanism” (Appadurai) that carries social aspirations. In the context of globalization, movements of linguistic revitalisation continue to grow and language has become a veritable tool for social action. This essay argues that, from a methodological standpoint, a more focused attention to the local and to translocal ties allows us to bring to light the connectivity of literature and its tendency to challenge institutionalized global literary geographies.

Vernaculars in an Age of World Literatures

“…With the exception of the handful of African countries where a distinctive language has been selected as official language, most African governments exhibit considerable ambivalence when it comes to enforcing an orthography for any one of the many vernaculars spoken in the country. On the one hand, and as reported by Ohiri-Aniche (2007), Olúmúyìwá (2013), andBourlet (2019), it is not uncommon for government-backed committees to be established to update or finalize the orthography for particular vernacular languages. On the other hand, the authorities in what are typically multilingual states often do not have much incentive or the wherewithal to enforce adoption of an orthography for the languages in use within the country.…”

“…Even as non-standardized forms of writing African languages appear to be proliferating, so also do disagreements over orthography, standardization, and even the choice of script for individual languages. Recent examples include the campaign to privilege Roman script over Arabic script among marginalized ethnic groups in Sudan (Abdel Rahim Mugaddam and Ashraf Abdelhay 2014) as well as in Mauritania (Bourlet 2019), and disagreements over standardization and orthography for the Berber languages (Amazigh) in Morocco (Abderrahman El Aissati 2014). One might also mention here the debates over an appropriate orthography for Wolof in the early years after independence in Senegal (Warner 2019: 123-8, 144-7).…”

Contextualizing the vernacular: Signposts from African languages, writing, and literature

“…With the exception of the handful of African countries where a distinctive language has been selected as official language, most African governments exhibit considerable ambivalence when it comes to enforcing an orthography for any one of the many vernaculars spoken in the country. On the one hand, and as reported by Ohiri-Aniche (2007), Olúmúyìwá (2013), and Bourlet (2019), it is not uncommon for government-backed committees to be established to update or finalize the orthography for particular vernacular languages. On the other hand, the authorities in what are typically multilingual states often do not have much incentive or the wherewithal to enforce adoption of an orthography for the languages in use within the country.…”

“…Even as non-standardized forms of writing African languages appear to be proliferating, so also do disagreements over orthography, standardization, and even the choice of script for individual languages. Recent examples include the campaign to privilege Roman script over Arabic script among marginalized ethnic groups in Sudan (Abdel Rahim Mugaddam and Ashraf Abdelhay 2014) as well as in Mauritania (Bourlet 2019), and disagreements over standardization and orthography for the Berber languages (Amazigh) in Morocco (Abderrahman El Aissati 2014). One might also mention here the debates over an appropriate orthography for Wolof in the early years after independence in Senegal (Warner 2019: 123-8, 144-7).…”